Arizona’s Republican governor vetoes bill protecting students from sex-ed, gender ideology By Emily Mangiaracina for Life Site News
The legislation was proposed to fight the use of ‘sex-ed as a vehicle to sneak in’ the agenda of the left, such as acceptance of transgenderism and homosexuality.
Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey vetoed a bill Tuesday that would require parents to opt into any instruction involving “sexuality, gender identity, or gender expression” in addition to any formal sex education.
“Clearly, this bill gets in the way of the political agendas of some,” said Republican state Senator Nancy Barto, who introduced the legislation. “The left has long used sex-ed as a vehicle to sneak in their agenda, but they rarely admit it.”
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“In an interview on my bill, a spokesperson for Human Rights Campaign Arizona said, ‘Sex education is a logical venue to help all youth learn about and encourage acceptance for LGBTQ people and families.’ When Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, and the Secular Coalition oppose a measure, that is a telling indicator of what’s really going on,” Barto continued.
Barto noted that 23 of the largest school districts in Arizona teach sex-ed to children in kindergarten through fourth grade, and insisted that “at that age, students should be focused on foundational subjects, not be exposed to sensitive topics that most aren’t yet ready to, or need to handle.”
In addition to prohibiting the teaching of sex-ed from kindergarten through fourth grade, Bill SB1456 would have prohibited schools “from providing sex education instruction” unless the pupil’s parent provides written permission for the child to participate in the sex education curricula.”
The part of the bill that drew the most anger from liberals attempted to shield students from indoctrination into acceptance of homosexual lifestyles.
The bill specifically would have created “procedures by which parents will be notified in advance of and given the opportunity to opt their children into any instruction, learning materials, or presentations regarding sexuality, gender identity or gender expression in courses other than formal sex education curricula.”
